Don't Take the Girl
by BanginBrownEyes
Summary: As Temperance fights for her life, Seeley prays to God to end his partner's suffering. Inspired by the lyrics of "Don't Take the Girl" by Tim McGraw. Note: I do not own the song or these characters! They are the property of Tim Mcgraw and FOX!
1. Chapter 1

_Doctor says she's fading fast _

_And he hit his knees _

_And then he prayed_

"_Take the very breath you gave me. _

_Take the heart from my chest._

_I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me._

_Make this my last request._

_Take me out of this world,_

_But God please don't take the girl."_

Seeley Booth knelt, his elbows resting on the back of the pew. Absently, he drew his right hand down and across his chest, just as he'd been taught decades ago, and raised his eyes to the crucifix that hung over the altar.

"God?" he whispered hoarsely, taking in a deep, shaky breath. "God, why are you doing this to her?" He watched the lifeless wooden face with desperation, almost as if he expected it to answer…but, of course, the man on the cross said nothing. The pale blue eyes just stared sadly back at him.

A long moment passed before a heavy sigh broke the silence, and Seeley let a single tear slip from the corner of his eye.

"I just don't understand," he exclaimed, wiping it away with the back of his hand. "I know that you said everything happens for a reason, but, for the life of me, I can't think of a single good reason-" His voice cracked, the raw emotion threatening to overwhelm him. He was all but crying openly now, and he could feel the heat of fresh tears as they rolled slowly down his cheeks. "It just isn't right."

And it sure as Hell wasn't fair. She was so much the better person…not to mention the better partner. He may have held the gun in their relationship, but Bones… Bones was the brains, the mental stronghold that could be counted on when things got tough. She was the one that kept them going, the one who had picked him up off of his living room floor (more times than he cared to remember), when the weight of the world had gotten to be too much.

He had missed that solid assurance over the past few weeks, the way her beautifully flawless logic could convince him to pour out yet another bottle of his single malt scotch, and start over. If not for himself, she would tell him, then for her. And if not for her, then for the people who they had been placed on this earth to help. Those nameless bodies had so quickly become the glue that held their world together, and now that world was steadily falling apart.

There was no one there to stop him from putting that bottle to his lips, no one to remind him of the responsibility he had, to the FBI and to the victims…and to their families, who deserved at least a pile of bones to mourn. In fact, he had only been to the office twice during the past few weeks. The smell of hard liquor still hung on his clothes from the night before, and the bags under his eyes told the bitter story of a man in ruin.

He wanted to curse God for what had happened to her, for what he had _let_ happen to her. He wanted to yell at the top of his lungs every blasphemous word he could think of…but he didn't. He did the only thing he could find in his aching heart to do. He bowed his head low and pleaded with God to make things right.

"Please," he begged, his shoulders shaking with sobs. "Please, spare her this. She may not believe you exist, but…but she's given me a different kind of faith. After what I've seen it's hard to believe in goodness anymore. I've spent so long judging people as evil and…and wrong…even myself. But Temperance, she was- _is_ one of the purest souls I've ever known."

He took another deep breath, struggling to hold back the tears in his eyes.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…I mean if you have to take someone, if there's some sort of cosmic balance you're trying to keep….then please…please, take me instead."


	2. Chapter 2

The hospital room was eerily silent, the only sound emanating from the army of machines huddled at Temperance's bedside. Angela slept restlessly on a chair next to the bed, her fingers still wrapped tightly around her best friend's hand.

For weeks, she and the rest of the team had held a constant vigil, watching and waiting for any signs that Tempe was on her way back to them. They would hold her hand and stroke her hair…and tell her everything was going to be okay. Even when, deep down, they weren't sure that it would be.

Every morning the doctor would come in, check the monitors, shine a light in her eyes, and tell them the same thing they had heard for the past three weeks: that nothing had changed. Her body was healing, the damage the toxin had done to her lungs slowly repairing itself. But she still hadn't regained consciousness. At first, the doctor had been optimistic, saying that it was all normal, that she would wake up in her own time. As the days passed, with no sign of improvement, he had become more and more indifferent. _There's nothing more we can do_. _The damage to her brain must have been more severe than we thought. I'm sorry for your loss…_

But she wasn't dead yet. She would be soon. It was only a matter of time, and yet, none of them wanted to give up hope. That maybe…when she was ready…

Suddenly, a shrill beeping shook the silence, ripping Angela from her chair. At first, she wasn't sure what was happening. Then, the shriek of the machines drove a nurse in from the hallway, and Angela watched in horror as she began moving things violently out of the way.

"Doctor! We need the doctor!"

Angela's eyes darted helplessly to the heart monitor, panic rising within her as she realized the green line on the screen wasn't moving. She started toward the bed, desperate to get to Temperance's side, but felt a strong hand pull her back.

"Miss! You'll have to leave! I'm sorry-"

"No! Tempe, no!"


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't deserve her." Seeley's voice echoed loudly in the empty chapel. "They do. All of them. Angela, Hodgins, Zack. They need her."

Without Bones there was no team, no reason for any of them to keep on going. He'd seen it in Angela's eyes, the moment she realized Tempe wasn't coming back. She looked so lost, her face so full of fear and uncertainty. How could she just leave them like this? What were they supposed to do now that their Bones was gone? What would happen to the Jeffersonian? There was only one thing that _was_ certain … it wouldn't be the same place without her.

He sighed, and watched sadly as the candles flickered. He wasn't sure exactly how long he sat there. It may have been minutes, or hours, but it felt like days.

Finally, Seeley managed to pull himself from the tired wooden bench, his long shadow stretching out behind him as he got to his feet. Wearily, he lifted his head (which, at that moment, seemed so heavy) and sent one final, desperate plea to God.

"I'd do anything," he cried. "I'd rip the heart from my chest if it meant she could have one more day on this Earth." Choking back a sob, Seeley raised his glistening brown eyes to the cross…waiting for some sign that his prayer had been heard. But, once again, there was only the thick deafening silence to comfort him.

_Either way,_ he thought, _I'm_ _better off dead. A world without her…it's not worth living in._

"God, please….don't take the girl."


	4. Chapter 4

"What's going on?" Angela demanded. It had been almost ten minutes since she was banished to the hallway, and the exhausted young orderly was the only person she had seen come or go from the room. He sighed heavily as he approached her, and she could see the dread clearly in his pale blue eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I…I'm so sorry," he began, running a hand nervously through his hair. "But it doesn't look good."

Angela could feel her heart drop. "What do you mean?"

"Your friend's been down for almost ten minutes. They're still working on her, but…after this much time-"

"No! They can't stop! They have to keep trying!"

"They've done all they can do." He looked truly defeated as he turned back toward the door.

In her heart, Angela wanted so badly to believe that Tempe would pull through. In her head, she knew that she had to accept the truth. Temperance was gone…and this could be her only chance to say goodbye.

"Wait," she whispered, putting a hand on the orderly's shoulder. He turned around slowly, his tired eyes meeting hers. "Can I see her?"

He hesitated a moment, his eyes drifting uneasily to the closed door. Then, he gave her a slight nod, and offered her a half-hearted smile.

"Wait here."


	5. Chapter 5

It was still dark as Seeley made his way to the hospital parking garage. The clap of his heavy boots resounded in the abandoned lot and, judging from the heavy chill in the air, he knew it must have been close to three or four in the morning. As he moved quickly up the stairs of the deserted garage, his eyes scanned the rows of cars, searching for the familiar shape of his black SUV.

It felt horrible to admit it, but he was eager to distance himself from this place. After weeks of spending his nights on an uncomfortable waiting room couch, his body ached for a warm bed…not to mention a long, hot shower. The stench of ammonia and death seemed to hover over him and he just couldn't stand the suffocating air of the hospital any longer.

Fishing the keys out of his pocket, Seeley opened the door and slid into the driver's seat, wondering how he was ever going to make it home. He had _never_ been so tired. Closing his eyes, he let his head fall back against the headrest. _I'm just going to rest, _he insisted, _just for a minute._

It wasn't long before Seeley could feel himself slowly drifting to sleep, and he struggled to open his eyes. He rubbed them with the heels of his hands and blinked, trying to bring the inside of the car back into focus. As his vision cleared, he caught sight of the rosary hanging from the rear-view mirror.

Slowly, Seeley reached up and took the tiny cross in his hand, the glass beads of the chain clinking together at his touch. It was the gift that Parker had given him for Father's Day, just a few days before the incident. A sad smile began to tug at the corners of his mouth as he pictured his son's face, so proud as he handed his father the gift he'd chosen just for him.

_"Mommy helped me pick it…she said it would keep you safe."_

Bones had been there, watching, from across the table as the little boy grinned victoriously, and he remembered the longing in her eyes, her sweet smile, and the warm sincerity in her voice as she spoke to him_._

"_It's beautiful, Parker."_

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Seeley freed the necklace from its perch on the mirror. For a long moment, he sat there, staring at the silver crucifix in his hand, thoughts of Bones and God and Parker swirling through his mind. Then, he let out a defeated sigh and discarded the object on the seat next to him.

"Home," he whispered to himself. "I just have to get home."


	6. Chapter 6

A few minutes passed before the doctor finally emerged from Temperance's room. His pale face was drawn and damp with sweat, and a few strands of thinning gray hair hung limply over his eyes. His strong hands had once forced life back into so many people, but the pitiful look he offered her was enough to tell Angela that the fight to save her friend was over.

"I'm sorry." He laid a hand comfortingly on the young woman's shoulder, and she nodded, knowing that they _had _done all they could….all they knew how to do.

"I know." She whispered. Her dark eyes were filled to the brim with fresh tears. "So…is she…?" Angela couldn't even bring herself to say the word. She didn't have to. The doctor nodded back, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"I'm afraid so. She's been unresponsive for some time now. I've given the nurse permission to call it." Angela told him that she understood, but said nothing else, her mind too numb to form a thought. All she knew was that she wanted to be at Tempe's side. She wanted to hold her hand, to talk to her...if only so her best friend would know that she hadn't been abandoned. She looked longingly at the door behind them and then turned back to the doctor, wiping the dampness from her cheeks.

"So,um...can I?"

"Sure," he nodded, motioning her toward the room with one hand. "Go ahead." As soon as she left his side, the doctor made his way to the nurse's station, and Angela waited until he had picked up another chart and disappeared around the corner before she reached for the door. Turning the knob, she pushed the heavy door out of her way, and took a small step into the room. Instantly, she felt a curtain of cold, sterile air surround her.

Tempe looked so pale. Her body was taught and lifeless as she lay in her hospital bed, surrounded by a mass of tubes and wires, and Angela found herself taken aback by the unnatural stillness. Her arms and legs stretched stiffly toward the wall, and her hair formed a dark halo around her head, the auburn locks starkly contrasting with the bleached white of her skin.

_She looks just like a porcelain doll... _

As the strange thought lingered in her mind, Angela circled the bed, eventually finding her way to the visitor's chair by the window. She sat down stiffly and took one of Tempe's hands in her own, the slight touch sending a sudden chill through her fingers. Absently, she began to rub at her bare arm.

"I can't believe you, Tempe." Angela whispered. She still hadn't managed to look at her best friend. Her gaze was fixed pitifully on the heart monitor overhead...and the flat green line that slid silently across the screen. "How could you leave us like this?"

Tears slid from the corners of her eyes, and she had to press her lips together to keep from sobbing. Slowly, she let her eyes drift from the monitor and back to the bed. One look at her best friend's face, and she could feel herself falling apart.

"How could you?" Angela demanded. Her voice was raw with unbridled anger, anger she hadn't even realized was there, and she let it spill out recklessly, knowing there was no one there to hear it. "What are we supposed to do now? We need you, Temperance! You need to come back to us!"

Please," she pleaded, more to God, or whoever it was that was listening, then to her friend. "Please come back..."

And then, she cried. Angela lay her head down next to Tempe's on the pillow and crumpled the damp sheets in her fist, allowing all that she had held back those past few weeks (the fear and grief and utter despair) to come crashing down on her in waves.

With each breath, her chest heaved, and her fingers tightened their grip on Tempe's body, as if letting her go meant that she would fade all the more quickly into oblivion.

As her sobs shattered the three a.m. silence, and wallowed in the emptiness of the abandoned hospital corridor, a tiny sound echoed inside the room.

_Beep................beep............._


	7. Chapter 7

The darkness tugged on Seeley's eyelids as he weaved his way slowly through the deserted city streets. He was only a few miles from the hospital, and his usual route seemed to stretch on and on in front of him, the familiar signs and buildings melding into one another as they passed. Struggling to stay awake, he shook his head roughly and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

As he eased to a stop at a red light, Seeley stifled a yawn and stole a glance at his cell phone. It glowed eerily from the holder on the dashboard, and the words on the screen indicated that he had 3 new voicemail messages. He picked it up and impatiently pressed the speed dial.

The first message was from Cullen (just another rant about responsibility and how he was avoiding it) and the agent quickly deleted it before moving on to the next.

"Hi, Seeley, it's me, Becca. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to take Parker this weekend. I know things have been difficult for you, but...um...he misses you and I-I don't know what to tell him. Please, call me as soon as you get this. Bye."

Seeley hit the delete button and tapped his finger impatiently on the wheel as he waited for the final message to play. His breath caught in his throat at the sound of Angela's distraught voice.

"Seeley? Seeley, its Angela. I need you to come back to the hospital. S-something's wrong. Something's wrong with Tempe. I-I think her heart stopped. The doctor's are working on her...I...I think this is it. Please, you have to come now!"

Seeley never heard the end of the message. In a panic, he dropped the phone and flipped on the siren, all before jerking the SUV into a frantic U-turn. He could feel his heart beating erratically against his ribcage as he raced back in the direction of the hospital, silently praying to God that he wouldn't be too late.

"Why?" He shouted. "Why now?" Seeley banged a fist against the steering wheel, fighting back the tears that stung his eyes. In a fit of desperation, he threw his head back and stared at the ceiling, his voice aimed straight at God.

"You can't take her!" He bawled. "I told you to take me! Do you hear? Take me!" His body shook violently and he cried (harder than he'd ever cried for anyone), the road in front of him blurred by a stream of tears. As he reached down to wipe his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt, a sudden flash of light lit up the cab, and Seeley jerked his head up in surprise.

A pair of dime-sized headlights was rushing toward him, much faster than they should have been. He watched in horror as they swerved dangerously back and forth across the yellow lines...and then straight into the path of his SUV. He slammed his foot down on the brake and spun the wheel as far to the right as it would go, but the lights barreled ahead, seemingly unaware of the impending collision.

The scream of a car horn blared in his ears as the white orbs bore down, drowning out everything around him. The street and the SUV no longer existed; the only thing he could see was her face...her striking blue eyes, her beautiful smile...

_"Booth?"_

And with her voice to guide him, Seeley slipped silently into the darkness.


End file.
